LawAndOrderSvu

It was a case of art colliding with life last night in downtown Manhattan as Occupy Wall Street protesters closed down the set of 'Law & Order: SVU.' The procedural drama was supposed to be shooting an OWS-themed episode and had built a fake OWS encampment in Foley Square.

A call from @OccupyWallSt went out on Twitter last night asking OWS protesters to head to the set: "Light, camera, ACTION! Everybody head to Foley Square. Bring yr headshots and make yrself at home! See you at midnite!" Then, with the aid of the hashtag #Mockupy, the news quickly spread throught the twitterverse.

According to CBS, the 'Mary Tyler Moore Show' veteran will once again play August March in an early 2012 episode. Asner first played the role in the 1975 episode of the original 'Hawaii Five-0' titled 'Wooden Model of a Rat.'

"It is thrilling to, for the first time, merge the original 'Hawaii Five-0' and our new show by having the classic, versatile and award-winning actor Ed Asner reprise his role of August March, a character Mr. Asner first played 36 years ago. There is no better way to form a bridge between our reboot and the original series," Peter Lenkov, 'Hawaii Five-0' executive producer, said in a statement.

For the first time, footage from the original series featuring Asner will be used. The archive footage will show his character in his smuggler days. When Asner's character appears in the new series, he'll be a reformed man after serving 30 years in prison for murder. The Five-0 team approach him for help on a smuggling case.

If you've ever wondered what happened to former Eminem protege of dubious street cred The Game, Tyra has the answer. For one thing, they just call him Game now. (It is tough to have the definitive article before your name -- just ask The Situation.) I wonder what Jayceon Terrell Taylor thinks of his strange fortunes -- which saw him nominated for two Grammy Awards only six years ago, and now he's a guest star on 'ANTM.' The model-bes are asked to write and sing a song about their lives, which, holy moly, that would be enough to get me to tune in. But bonus: they make a music video of their results, which Game (no "The") directs.

In the season premiere, we learned that Det. Stabler has put in his retirement papers. And since Meloni wasn't available to be in the show, Det. Benson had to learn this second-hand. While publicly she appeared to take it pretty well, she had a breakdown in private.

Now it's going to be the show's task to reinvigorate the show with a different energy and some new faces without the face of one of its biggest stars. Why does that sound familiar?

Now the only 'Law & Order' left on the beat, 'SVU' has all sorts of headlines to rip from.

First up? According to TVLine, the series will take on the Arnold Schwarzenegger love child scandal.

The episode will be loosely inspired by the Schwarzenegger/Shriver real-life drama involving Schwarzenegger fathering a child with a member of the family's household staff.

In the episode, viewers will meet Andrew Raines, a 50something philanthropist and member of New York City's elite upper crust. The character's wife, Kathleen, is described as fiercely protective of her family.

Wong, who has played Dr. George Huang on 'SVU' since 2001, co-stars opposite Jason Isaacs and Cherry Jones in NBC's midseason drama 'Awake.' He confirmed his departure from 'SVU' on Twitter while live-tweeting an 'SVU' marathon. Thanks to TVLine for the tip.

"I actually do not return for season 13 of @nbcsvu #SVU!" he wrote. "I am jumping to @nbcAwake #Awake! it's awesome!"

After producers hired not one, but two, new actors for lead roles in the wake of Meloni's departure, worried fans have been left to question the fate of Mariska Hargitay and her character, Det. Olivia Benson.

Now producers have acted to reassure fans, telling 'Entertainment Weekly' that the new additions to the cast do not pose a threat to Hargitay, and that she will continue to play a marquee role in the 'Law & Order' franchise when it returns in the fall.

A NBC spokesman said that Hargitay will appear in every episode of the upcoming Season 13 even though Kelly Giddish ('The Chase') and Danny Pino ('Cold Case') have joined the cast.

Production on the upcoming Season 13 is due to get underway soon and, according to Deadline.com, 'SVU' creator/executive producer Dick Wolf and NBC have narrowed the field to a short list of five.

The actors, who have all doubtless just spent a sleepless night in the Big Apple rehearsing their lines, have been named as: Danny Pino ('Cold Case'), Kevin Alejandro ('True Blood,' 'Southland'), David Conrad ('Ghost Whisperer'), Michael Raymond-James ('Terriers') and Rhys Coiro ('Entourage').

Each one will test today with Meloni's co-star, Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on the drama. Both Alejandro and Raymond-James recently guest-starred on 'SVU,' so could be feeling like they've got the edge.

On 'Law & Order: SVU' (Wed., 10PM ET on NBC), the team goes undercover to solve a murder that took place in a slaughterhouse. But things start to go badly almost right away. First of all, the slaughterhouse is disgusting -- filled with cockroaches and rat droppings. Still, that isn't the worst part.

I remember when 'Law & Order: SVU' debuted, there were a lot of joking articles asking what would be next, 'Law & Order: Pet Detectives'? There were also questions about how many of these shows an audience could really take, and so on and so forth, with the same humor (if you can call it that) applied to the 'CSI' and 'NCIS' franchises as they came along.

Well guess what, people? 'Law & Order' is doing it again. NBC has greenlit a fourth version of 'L&O' -- set in L.A. -- for a fall debut. The original and 'SVU' are also looking good for renewals, while 'Criminal Intent' airs on cable network USA and on NBC.

My mind is boggled by this news. At this point, when I watch 'L&O' it has the same sort of nostalgic feeling I used to get from old episodes of 'Little House on the Prairie'.

I remember when 'Law & Order: SVU' debuted, there were a lot of joking articles asking what would be next, 'Law & Order: Pet Detectives'? There were also questions about how many of these shows an audience could really take, and so on and so forth, with the same humor (if you can call it that) applied to the 'CSI' and 'NCIS' franchises as they came along.

Well guess what, people? 'Law & Order' is doing it again. NBC has greenlit a fourth version of 'L&O' -- set in L.A. -- for a fall debut. The original and 'SVU' are also looking good for renewals, while 'Criminal Intent' airs on cable network USA and on NBC.

My mind is boggled by this news. At this point, when I watch 'L&O' it has the same sort of nostalgic feeling I used to get from old episodes of 'Little House on the Prairie'.

After 20 years, NBC's relationship with the 'Law & Order' franchise is still going strong.

According to sources for Deadline Hollywood, NBC has picked up 'Law & Order: Los Angeles,' the latest show in Dick Wolf's juggernaut franchise, for 13 episodes this fall. 'Brotherhood' creator Blake Masters is co-creating the series with Wolf.

Meanwhile, a 12th season of 'Law & Order: SVU' is looking more and more likely now that show leads Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have cleared their schedules to shoot new episodes this summer, according to the report. Based on contract negotiations from last spring, Hargitay and Meloni are expected return under a one-year deal that includes the option of an additional season.

For instance, NBC is bringing back the mystery series 'The Rockford Files' with Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner turned into a classic TV crime fighter. CBS has also ordered a remake of the procedural cop classic 'Hawaii Five-O' with Scott Caan and Jean Smart.

Normally, my gut reacts to a TV remake the same way a person who just washed his car reacts to a line of dark clouds (a lot of cursing and shaking of fists at God or some other celestial being). However, if done right, anything has the chance to be good... unless it's one of the following cop serials, which should never be touched by a TV producer ever again.

Chad Lowe is joining the ABC Family. According to reports, Lowe will co-star in the new series 'Pretty Little Liars,' about four teenage girls who start to receive messages from a friend who disappeared three years earlier -- or so they think. Lowe will play father to Lucy Hale's character, Aria, replacing the previously cast Alexis Denisof. [Hollywood Reporter]